Welcome to the Podcast of Another 15 Minutes, Health News from the Fade Library. Full links to the articles detailed can be found at www (dot) fade the blog 2 (dot) blogspot (dot)com
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National News
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GPs who can't manage themselves should be brought back into the NHS - The Guardian 19th January 2007
What is a GP worth? There is no answer in this gold-rush decade when the government shies away from even thinking about worth. The public sector is nailed to 1.5% pay increases, boardrooms soar by 30% and the Pay Commission is rowing about whether to defy the Confederation of British Industry and raise the minimum wage a measly 25p. No wonder this year's GP negotiations have run into the mud, suspended in anger. In a value void, how should we think about GPs earning an average £106,000, and many a lot more? Are they worth it? That's roughly the same as a director of social services running a whole county's complex children's services, including all schools, children in care and children's health. But that director is a hated "bureaucrat": just see the bloggers' bile when I described their jobs this week.
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GP pay 'should have been capped' - BBC Health News 19th January 2007
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Gambling entices our young and vulnerable. They need our help - The Guardian 19th January 2007
Your article on the gambling addiction report I authored for the British Medical Association stated that "problem gambling is associated with a number of health problems" (Compulsive gamblers should be treated on NHS, say doctors, January 16). Your report, though, did not have room to detail why these health problems occur. Problem gamblers ultimately find themselves in a desperate situation both financially and psychologically. This intense stress can often lead to adverse health consequences including anxiety disorders, depression, insomnia, intestinal disorders and migraines - genuine medical problems that need treating.
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Maternity care row over hospital closures in Blair's back yard - The Guardian 19th January 2007
Two big NHS hospitals serving Tony Blair's constituents in south Durham are to be closed after a fierce row over which of them should provide maternity services, it emerged last night. Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, has approved proposals to close the hospitals in Stockton and Hartlepool and build a new state-of-the-art facility for nearly 500,000 people living north of the Tees. The hospitals have a combined turnover of about £186m this year.
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Sanitation rated the greatest medical advance in 150 years - The Guardian 19th January 2007
Sanitation is the greatest medical milestone of the last century and a half, acccording to a poll carried out by the British Medical Journal. Sanitation was the clear winner among 15 milestones shortlisted by readers of the journal, including the development of vaccines, which has safeguarded many children's lives, and the invention of the contraceptive pill, which was a contributory factor to significant social change.
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A sewer is the best medicine, poll declares - The Times 19th January 2007
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Sanitation 'best medical advance' - BBC Health News 18th January 2007
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Transfusion led to vCJD - The Independent 19th January 2007
A patient has been diagnosed with variant-Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease nine years after receiving an infected blood transfusion. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said it was the fourth case of vCJD to be diagnosed in Britain in connection with a blood transfusion. The patient has not been identified.
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Infected patient in vCJD scare - The Times 19th January 2007
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Tories plan strict quotas for makers of fatty foods - The Times 19th January 2007
Food and drink manufacturers could be given strict quotas for producing fatty and sugary foods and alcohol under plans to tackle obesity and excessive drinking being considered by the Conservative Party. Under the plan drawn up by the Working Group on Responsible Business, set up by David Cameron last July, producers would be allocated production limits allowing them to produce a certain quantity of fatty food or alcoholic drink.
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IVF trial by TV - The Times 19th January 2007
On January 15 the BBC broadcast an edition of Panorama focusing on the IVF clinics operated by Mohammed Taranissi. In the programme it was revealed that his clinics were under investigation by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which obtained a warrant to search his premises with police assistance. This programme raises important issues relevant to the regulation of independent professional practice.
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Radiation dose 60 per cent too high - The Telegraph 19th January 2007
Lisa Norris is just one of the many patients who have died after being given the wrong treatment. The teenager had 19 radiotherapy sessions at the Beatson Oncology Centre in Glasgow to treat a brain tumour.
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Ban on home HIV tests 'outdated' - BBC Health News 19th January 2007
Banning home HIV testing kits is unwarranted and a breach of patient autonomy, a UK health expert argues. The tests were made illegal in 1992 amid the concern, among others, that a person could discover they had HIV without ready access to counselling.
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Brits buying more fruit and veg - BBC Health News 18th January 2007
Brits are buying record amounts of fruit and veg - the biggest increase for 20 years - a survey finds. Household expenditure rose by 12.9% for fruit and 6.3% for veg and fell for confectionary, soft drinks and alcohol.
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Vegetative state drug review call - BBC Health News 18th January 2007
The husband of a woman in a persistent vegetative state who was given an experimental treatment has said she would not have wanted the drug. A court ruled the 53-year old woman should be given sleeping pill zolpidem - against her family's wishes.
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International News
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Folic acid boosts minds of over-50s, study finds - The Guardian 19th January 2007
Absent-mindedness in the over-50s is significantly improved when people take folic acid supplements, according to a large study reported in today's Lancet. Short-term memory, mental agility and verbal fluency tests were all better among people who took high doses of the supplement for three years, compared with a group given a placebo. The Food Standards Agency said it would consider the new evidence as part of its ongoing consultation on the widespread addition of folic acid in flour. Only women planning to conceive are currently advised to take folic acid, to decrease the chances of their baby being born with a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida.
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Folic acid sets back effects of ageing on the brain by five years, says study - The Independent 19th January 2007
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Folic acid pills 'can slow mental decline' - The Times 19th January 2007
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Bacteria tests reveal how MRSA strain can kill in 24 hours - The Guardian 19th January 2007
Scientists have unravelled the workings of a deadly superbug that attacks healthy young people and can kill within 24 hours. PVL-producing MRSA, a highly-virulent strain of the drug-resistant superbug, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, has spread around the world and caused deaths in the UK, Europe, the US and Australia. PVL or panton-valentine leukocidin toxin destroys white blood cells and usually causes boils and other skin complaints. But if it infects open wounds it can cause necrotising pneumonia, a disease that rapidly destroys lung tissue and is lethal in 75% of cases.
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MRSA could kill healthy youngsters - The Telegraph 19th January 2007
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Huge cut in measles deaths hailed as triumph - The Guardian 19th January 2007
Measles deaths have been slashed by more than half by a concerted campaign that was hailed yesterday as a triumph for global public health and could pave the way for eradication of one of the world's most infectious diseases. Between 1999 and 2005, there was a 60% reduction in annual measles deaths worldwide, from 873,000 to 345,000, according to United Nations figures reported in the medical journal the Lancet. Africa, where children are most prone to die when they catch measles because of poor nutrition and other infections including HIV, has led the way, with a 75% drop in deaths. In 1999, 506,000 African children died - 90% aged under five. By 2005, the figure had fallen to 126,000.
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Anti-measles campaign saves seven million lives - The Independent 19th January 2007
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Vaccine drive cuts measles deaths - BBC Health News 19th January 2007
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Cheshire and Merseyside News
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City centre children are living below the breadline - Daily Post 18th January 2007
HALF of all children living in and around Liverpool city centre are living in poverty, a study revealed yesterday. Youngsters in Liverpool’s Riverside ward are the second most underprivileged in the country with 49.7% living under the poverty level – double the national average.
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Poor health blamed on poverty - Runcorn Weekly News 18th January 2007
THE high level of strokes and heart attacks in Halton has been blamed on deprivation and widespread poverty throughout the borough. Residents in Runcorn and Widnes are some of the unhealthiest in England and Wales, with people living in the poorest parts of the borough lucky to live to be 74 -- five years less than the combined national average for men and women.
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Pensioner with broken leg was 'slung' into bath - Runcorn Weekly News 18th January 2007
A NURSE dumped a frail, elderly woman in a bath when she could see the patient was in agony from a suspected fractured leg, a disciplinary hearing has been told. Valerie Humphreys, 58, told two care assistants: 'You might as well give her a bath now you're here' before putting her in the tub herself.
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Finger on the pulse of healthy eating - Midweek Advertiser 17th January 2007
FINGERPRINT scanners are being used to monitor children’s eating habits at a West Lancashire school. St Teresa’s RC, in College Road, Up Holland, is one of the first primaries in Lancashire to install scanners in its canteen.
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Student midwives show vision in award success - Midweek Advertiser 17th January 2007
STUDENT midwives from Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, won a prestigious award presented by the Princess Royal. The Student Vision Award was presented to Michelle Cash and Liza Munro at the Royal College of Midwives annual awards event.
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Hospital car pass cost will stay at £5 a week - Midweek Advertiser 17th January 2007
THE weekly car park pass at Ormskirk Hospital will not now increase to £7.50 but will remain at £5, the hospital has confirmed. Together with a £5 refundable deposit, it means anyone visiting the hospital more than once in the same week will save money by using the pass once car-park charges rise to £3 per visit from January 8.
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Doctor is banned for investigation - Warrington Guardian 18th January 2007
A WARRINGTON doctor has been banned from practice by the General Medical Council (GMC), pending the outcome of an investigation into matters relating to him. The decision means that Paul Frederick Hardcastle, who worked in otolaryngology (head and neck disorders), will remain suspended until June 7, 2008.
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
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Community treatment survey - Midweek Advertiser 17th January 2007
A PUBLIC consultation on moving health services from hospitals to community clinics is underway until the end of March. Lancashire County Council want to ensure people have their say on major changes being planned to NHS services as part of an Government shake up called Clinical, Assessment, Treatment and Support Services (CATS).
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‘Patients will be top priority’ - Carlisle News & Star 18th January 2007
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Death case psychiatrist was cover for staff - Carlisle News & Star 18th January 2007
AN unregistered psychiatrist accused of manslaughter provided overnight cover at a Cumbrian hospital while there were staff shortages there. Peter Fisher was put on the on-call rota at the West Cumberland Hospital even though he could not prescribe drugs for patients.
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Patient told nurse of 'sexual assault' - Lancashire Telegraph 18th January 2007
A NURSE burst into tears as she described how a teenage patient told her she had been touched intimately by a doctor. Naveen Shivan, who is an ENT doctor in the former Blackburn Royal Infirmary, is on trial at Preston Crown Court after denying sexual assault.
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Greater Manchester News
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'Hundreds of jobs at risk' in latest NHS shake-up - Manchester Evening News 18th January 2007
REGIONAL health bosses are putting hundreds of jobs at risk by transferring routine testing out of the NHS to a private company, according to hospital chiefs. NHS North West, which is in charge of health care in the region, is in talks with two companies to set up six new centres across Greater Manchester.
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Have your say on future of hospital - The Bolton News 18th January 2007
TIME is running out for the people of Bolton to have their say on the future of the Royal Bolton Hospital. Residents are being asked for their opinions on its possible transformation into a Foundation Trust.
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Disabled cobbler fights hospital shoe decision - The Bolton News 18th January 2007
A SPECIALIST shoe-maker has criticised the Royal Bolton Hospital for not giving disabled people a choice of footwear supplier. Phil Taylor, who wears the kind of surgical shoes he also makes, supplied shoes to the hospital until recently.
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Winter warning for the elderly - Bury Times 18th January 2007
AGE Concern Bury has issued a winter checklist as the borough braces itself for gale force winds and snow in the coming weeks. The organisation is encouraging older home owners to minimise the risks of burst pipes and other cold weather-related problems.
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Roy gets MBE as reward for services to NHS - Bury Times 18th January 2007
A BURY Primary Care Trust employee has spoken of his delight at being awarded an MBE for his services to the NHS. Roy Dudley-Southern is the collaborative commissioning team leader and strategic planning manager for Greater Manchester in a career that has spanned almost four decades.
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Baby unit fight goes to the top - Bury Times 18th January 2007
HEALTH Secretary Patricia Hewitt is to be asked to review the controversial decision to axe Fairfield Hospital's maternity department and special care baby unit. Bury councillors are referring the matter to the Secretary of State because they disagree with the Making it Better decision to to close the services at Fairfield as part of a massive shake-up of maternity services across Greater Manchester.
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Health trust wants your opinion - Bury Times 18th January 2007
THE health trust providing mental care services at Fairfield Hospital is inviting Bury residents to attend a meeting discussing the future of healthcare. Pennine Care NHS Trust is planning on becoming a Foundation Trust which will allow people to become "members" of the trust and be consulted on plans for future developments.
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Surgery team wins award for excellence - Bury Times 18th January 2007
THE Woodbank Surgery has won a GP Award of Excellence for effectively involving patients in changes to the surgery over the last 18 months. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt presented the award to Dr Vijay Kumar, GP partner, and Maria Stacy, the practice manager at the NHS Alliance conference in Bournemouth.
Full links to the articles detailed can be found at www(dot) fade the blog 2 (dot)blogspot (dot)com, This has been a Podcast of Another 15 Minutes ... Health News from the Fade Library.
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